Key Points

I think Steve Francis needs to share the ball with Yao Ming. I also believe that Moochie Norris is getting paid way too much for his performance. Maurice Taylor needs to improve his rebounding. Rudy Tomjanovich let the players have way too much freedom, so isn't it a good thing that JVG will finally instill some discipline and get the Rockets going? And Cuttino doesn't seem to pass as much as he should.

Oh, Boki and EG are not living up to the expectations of many, Kelvin Cato could use a better offensive game, and Les Alexander is too cheap to bring in quality players.

Now, if someone would please lock up this thread or, better yet, detonate it, maybe it will have a residual effect and dissolve other meaningless, cliched, overanalyzed points such as these.

P.S. If the Rockets can increase their field goal and free throw percentage while reducing their opponents FG% to less than theirs, I think we will do quite well and win some ballgames.

 

Now here's the non-cliched version. Steve Francis needs to share the ball a little more with Mr. Ming, but he also should work on his shooting a little more- he's not a bad shooter, but I think if he can increase his outside shooting skills as Yao gets better, the 2-3 points he adds to the box score could mean the difference in a few victories here and there. Mo Taylor could maybe improve his rebounding a tad, but it's not that big a deal. The Rockets were one of the worst rebounding teams when they won their 1st championship, and the Bulls rebounding numbers from 1991-1993 weren't spectacular either, so no worry on Mo's part.

Here's the thing about Moochie- I think the guy might be able to be a serviceable backup to SF IF he listens and works on his game. I've seen enough of him play to know that he's a decent 8th-9th option, which is all you really need from that position. Boki and EG are playing up to exactly their potential, depending on how you view the draft. The way I look at it, I think you have to judge them on their own terms, rather than "This guy was picked #7 and he sucks!" O.K., it's acceptable to say a player isn't doing well period, but why base it on the draft? Wasn't Pervis Ellison drafted #1? And wasn't Nick Van Exel a second-rounder?

I don't think the coaching is a problem. Rudy T was a good, detailed coach- alright, maybe there was an issue with his control over the players, but I think it is a bit overrated. The same with saying JVG is the messiah that will lead them to the promised land (he would even laugh at that).

Bottom line is: it may simply be a matter of us being overhyped. I think this team will find a winning identity at some point, maybe with all these players, maybe with a few changes, but I think it will eventually happen within the next 1-2 years. I don't think the team is as bad as everyone thinks, but I do think we tend to put on our red/rose-colored glasses, see Ming and Francis, and think "Bird and McHale. Johnson and Jabbar. Jordan and Pippen. Shaq and Kobe." Those teams had a lot more than that, and besides, no offense to us Rockets fans, but Ming isn't Jabbar yet and Francis isn't Johnson (and will probably never be).

However, they might reach the status of a Thomas/Dumars or a Hakeem/Drexler, and with the right intangibles, take this winning thing to the next level. Or, if the trend in Bball suddenly changes, we might have a situation like football where a team without a trio of bonafide stars (Ravens, Patriots) breaks through.

Just a thought.

 

Makes you a little queasy after the third sentence, doesn't it? Did to me, and I wrote it!

Seriously, I think it's just a matter of fans wanting a team to win so bad that they overanalyze this team to death. The way I see it is quite simple- they are not in the top realm of teams, but they are not too far off, and JVG was right- I think we have a few guys who don't want to hear what he's preaching. With some teams, like the current Spurs, I think you have guys there who are more willing to listen and buy in to a system, particularly when the top player sets the tone (Duncan). With the Rox, Ming is not the "tone setter" yet, but he's the most likely to be that player. I think Steve, no offense, needs to grow up a little bit. I could see trying to explain a new system to Dirk, Steve, and Michael on the Mavs, and somehow, I get the feeling that they would be more willing to "get it" than Francis and Mobley. Hopefully, I'm wrong on this, but I don't know. The proof is in the Ws.